Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of illegal working since the introduction of that offence.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice holds data on convictions for illegal working covering the period requested and this can be viewed in the Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
The offence ‘illegal working’ can be found using the following HO code; 19464.
This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the above offence in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2024 to Question UIN 7644 on Gaza: Israel, what recent assessment he made of the implications for his policies of allegations that Israel has used starvation as a weapon of war.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.
On 20 March, the Foreign Secretary announced the UK has funded WFP to provide 2000 tons of food aid, enough to feed 275,000 people in Gaza.
Israel has now committed to significant steps to increase the amount of aid getting to Gaza. We have seen an encouraging increase in the number of aid trucks getting into Gaza, but we must see further action to ensure more aid actually gets over the border.
Israel must fulfil its commitments to enable a flood of aid, including by guaranteeing deconfliction for aid workers.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire of 17 January 2024, Official Report, column 816, what the expected timetable is for publishing his review of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Since I advised on 17 January that I had met with Justice McAlinden, my officials have conducted extensive stakeholder engagement with more than twenty consultees throughout January to March. We are now considering the findings and will publish the report in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will extend the upcoming application deadline of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As part of the review of the operation of the Troubles Permanent Disablement Scheme, I will consider evidence to determine whether an extension to the period for backdated payments is warranted. My officials have now conducted their engagement and I will advise on my decision in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will allocate additional resources to the Victims Payment Board to help process applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme received close to the deadline.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Support for victims of the Troubles - including the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme - is a devolved matter.
Resourcing of the Victims Payments Board is a matter for the consideration of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will list Heritage Lottery Fund Northern Ireland grants in each of the last five years.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Information on grants are publicly available on the National Lottery Database, found at https://nationallottery.dcms.gov.uk/data.
Between 26 March 2019 and 21 February 2024, 215 grants were awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, totalling £25,962,712.
Of these awards, 7 were made in the North Down constituency, with awards ranging from £4,700 to £1,048,020.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to meet with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign following the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department accepts the findings of maladministration in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Leader of the House on making Parliamentary time available for Members to debate and approve the recommendations in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help (a) continue the operation of the UK Youth Parliament and (b) ensure all regions receive adequate (i) financial and (ii) operational support to facilitate the Parliament.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I was sorry to learn about the closure of the British Youth Council and want to express gratitude for its work over the years. Government is committed to the delivery of the UK Youth Parliament and intends to use funding allocated to the British Youth Council in 2024/25 to support the programme. We are working alongside previous UK Youth Parliament delivery partners from English regions and the devolved administrations, to understand the implications of the British Youth Council’s closure. We have been working at pace to identify a suitable organisation which can hold overall grant management responsibility for the UKYP 24/25. A preferred candidate has been identified and we are currently undertaking final due diligence checks and negotiating terms and I will update the house as soon as next steps have been formalised.